Anarchist bookfair to be held in "porn warehouse"; massive shitstorm erupts

[Ele'ill]

No, that renting from the meat industry might alienate some of the audience who are vegans just as renting from a porn company might alienate some feminists, women, and anarchists who don't share the same views on porn. Hell it might make someone who was actually raped a little uncomfortable to be in a place that is used for people to have play-rape.

It just seems like a bizzare choice - which is why I chalk it up to the organizers probably just under pressure to find a place (something I'm empathetic to, while I'm not empethetic to ideological justifications for the choice). But I think it's more of a problem that then when critcism is brought up, it's people on the left have treated it like it's not big deal or the concerns are dismissed or ideological arguments are used to wave away the concerns. If an author came to the event and wanted to make an argument about why anarchists and other radicals should support sex-workers, then that's just a debate and since that debate exists, it would be totallyt appropriate to have such a speaker. However, that this debate exists on the Left, and then to choose a location like this -- well it's a strange choice.

I think the concerns are dismissed sometimes and done so very callously and that's pretty lame. I have seen a lot of comments get called callous or insensitive in this case and I don't think they were. I think the main criticism here is why anarchists are relying entirely on what is apparently several organizers to organize a 'community event' and then complaining about the results (however justified or not). You would think the critical thought towards this would begin there where the actual solution to this problem is.

[Jesus Saves Gretzky Scores]

"DUDE, I hear Kink.com is launching a new site called SALMONFUCKERS. The two regular doms are Derrick Jensen and Ben Barker who capture poor salmon with their bare hands"

[ellipsis]

They already have a show like that about noodling catfish.

[Ocean Seal]

That's really a nice idea; the left certainly needs to get rid of people who don't understand the difference between human beings and other animals.

Luís Henrique

Yeah, but a meat warehouse doesn't seem like the most pleasant place to put up a bookfair that lasts several hours.

[RedHal]

I don't think this is an issue of consenting adults engaged in consensual BDSM. It's a product being sold, the product is women being tortured, and the demographic for this product are men who find women in pain sexually arousing. With rape and violence against women so prevalent in society, it's pretty disturbing stuff.

[Ele'ill]

I don't think this is an issue of consenting adults engaged in consensual BDSM. It's a product being sold, the product is women being tortured, and the demographic for this product are men who find women in pain sexually arousing. With rape and violence against women so prevalent in society, it's pretty disturbing stuff.

Yeah, I think this is a good point however I don't entirely get it. I know three people who are into BDSM and they are women who introduced their partners to it. They moved on to film with it as side income. What is the actual issue here, sex and fetish? How can the issue be addressed as in what is the course of action against it and what is 'it'? How would bdsm videos look differently in a post revolutionary world or is it bdsm itself that is a problem?

[mew]

http://theunsexyfeminist.tumblr.com/...aphy-and-insex

[MarxArchist]

documentary critique

He mentions that she did not actually enjoy BDSM, but that because she was an addict and needed money to feed her addiction, she would do anything in front of a camera

Not cool. This is one major issue I have with sex work. When men/women are addicted to drugs and do it out of total desperation OR cannot provide the basics food/shelter/clothing without preforming sex acts. In advanced western nations the former is more common, in my opinion. Could most of these women survive without working at kink.com? I would think so, just not at the same level of income. If the choice is "do BDSM or starve in the streets" that's a different matter.

Brent Scott, founder of Insex, discusses why he decided to give the actresses numbers in place of names. He mentions that one actress and her boyfriend tried to use notoriety gained from her performances at Insex to get membership subscriptions for their own site. Scott frames the decision as something he did to protect his own interests; he seems to care little for the careers of the women, or their ability to function autonomously as porn actresses/use the experience with Insex to build their own reputations.

Capitalists do this all the time. I'm not "allowed" to use my workplace to get side jobs or even discuss 'moonlighting' at work or even mention the company in relation to getting side work. I then become the 'competition'. I guess that set up seems sleazier in sex work though, a more obviously implied "ownership".

I'll need to watch the documentary before I comment on it with any certainty. I'll be attending the book-fair either way but will say the building was also used as ground zero in the oppression of workers during one of the largest strikes in history. It's not exactly a beacon of liberation that building.